Chapter 334
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A slow smile spread on Alec's face, but it was unseen under the hood he sported. "Don't be obtuse. It's unbecoming of you."
Travis snorted, but conceded. He'd only been back for a little over two weeks, but he was already thrust back into the clan's political playground, which meant that his manner of speaking had changed a little.
It was hard to break out of habits.
"Fine. You managed to uncover a truly horrendous thing in the Ross Clan, and the political shitstorm that happened is about to swallow the clan whole."
Alec raised a brow. "Surely it's not as bad as that?"
Travis snorted again, disagreeing. "There's always been a power gap between two factions, but since Diane Ross was a staunch supporter of the first faction, the upheaval after her apparent doings was enough to shift the power more towards the second faction. Diane was in charge of a lot of things in the clan, helping the first faction. She had quite a bit of power."
Alec kept silent, listening to Travis ramble on and on about all the things that were going wrong since Diane had been exposed.
He wasn't really interested in the internal happenings of the Ross Clan, but the information he got from Travis as he continued to vent was helpful enough that he didn't stop him.
Finally, Travis got to the point where he was just tired and less on guard.
He took a big gulp from the mug that was placed on the table.
Alec allowed him to do so. Maybe it would further loosen him up a little.
"I mean… I just never expected her to be capable of such atrocity, you know?" Travis said. He seemed almost sad.
Alec didn't say anything. Rather than wanting Alec to talk, Travis just seemed more like he needed a listening ear.
Travis slumped onto the table, sobbing.
Alec was speechless.
Helplessly, the System planted another seal that obscured the table they were seating at before anyone could see the first young master of the Ross Clan acting like a fool.
Alec had no idea why he was acting in such a way. He only had a little sip of Alec's drink, so it couldn't be that.
Alec prodded Travis with his shoe, causing the teen to roll over on the table, completely ungraceful.
"What?" Travis said with a watery sniff.
"Did your clan discover anything else about Diane's wrongdoings?"
Travis' eyes filled with tears, and Alec didn't want to touch on that with a ten-foot pole.
"We did," Travis wailed. "There was so much!"
"Like what?"
Alec only had a brief time to scan through the other things left behind, and her diary and little black book only contained details outside the clan, as well as the things she did for the company without the clan's presence.
What he wanted were the extra details about the things he hadn't managed to read about.
"There were times where she killed one or both parents, then abducted the child. Both from inside and outside the clan. There were also instances where she was the one who purposely sabotaged – there are just so many things-" Travis' voice cracked.
"I just can't believe I never saw any hints of it whatsoever, you know? She was so nice to me. I treated her almost like another mother, but those eyes of hers when she looks at me now just-"
Alec's eyes flashed. Those weren't the things he was looking for, but it deepened his disdain for her all the same.
"Do you know what she did with the children?"
Travis shook his head. "I suspect that she was giving them to the slave traders, but they don't have any solid evidence of that. We just know that she was the one doing it."
"And did your clan interrogate her?"
Travis smiled bitterly. "Of course. How could you expect anything less?"
The young master from the Ross Clan took another sip from his cup, and he seemed noticeably more depressed.
"I still can't believe it," he slurred. "I can't, I can't…"
Alec frowned. While he did still have a bit of sympathy for Travis, it was expiring fast. What in the world was causing him to act this way?
Was he just using the presence of alcohol to drown in his emotions, or was he really drunk?
The System gave a few more prods, but the young master of the Ross Clan seemed completely out of sorts. He information he spouted was varied and differing in detail.
Alec was baffled. The teen truly did seem completely drunk, which made no sense to him.
He was only sipping one mouthful at a time!
Alec himself had went by the mug and was still perfectly fine and in control of his mental capacity.
Unless Travis just had an abnormally low tolerance?
It didn't occur to Alec at all that it was his alcohol tolerance that was abnormally high. Especially since he'd been repeatedly dosing himself with various forms of poison over the years.
Travis spilled everything he knew under the influence of alcohol – something that the teen had told himself not to do when he met Alec – but the alcohol successfully loosened his tongue even though Alec didn't expect it to have such a great effect.
Finally, Travis let out something that Alec was interested in. Very interested, in fact.
"Diane's been rotting in one of the clan's dungeons. Since she won't say anything else, the elders are all scratching their heads despite the methods being used to interrogate her. By now, it's mostly been abandoned as a useless avenue, so she's mostly left alone."
Alec's eyes narrowed. "Is there only one dungeon?"
"Mmhm."
"Where can I find the other information that the clan's already gathered from Diane?"
"Top floor, in the management office," Travis slurred, before he knocked right out, the alcohol doing him in.
Alec's lips twitched. He looked in the mug. What a lightweight.
Still, he very kindly picked up Travis like a bedraggled kitten and carried him under the arm, removing the two seals he'd placed down on the bar's table.
He absconded with Travis, people staring at him with wide eyes.
The people left behind whispered to one another, "Should we inform the Ross Clan or not?"
Someone snorted. "Let them be. It's not like it's our problem."
"But what if they arrest us?" someone else asked, nonplussed.
"I say it's more likely that the first young master's found a bit of fun, more like-"
"Hahaha!"
Alec sneered, hearing the words that were going around crystal clear despite the distance he'd already put between them.
Alec carried Travis' unconscious body towards the Ross Clan Compounds and was obviously stopped outside before he could enter.
He painted a suspicious picture. Lugging around an unconscious body would do that.
The System picked up Travis by the back of his shirt, showing them his face. "I'm bringing back the first young master of the Ross Clan. He got plastered with me in the bar."
The guards eyed him with great deal of suspicion, but they still allowed him entry in the end after they pointed out where Travis lived.
He supposed that it helped that he knew Talisha's name and not just Travis'.
Of course, to Alec, what they were doing was inconsequential. He was here for more than that, after all.
Still, Alec brought Travis back to his house and unceremoniously dumped him on the bed before leaving quickly.
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A slow smile spread on Alec's face, but it was unseen under the hood he sported. "Don't be obtuse. It's unbecoming of you."
Travis snorted, but conceded. He'd only been back for a little over two weeks, but he was already thrust back into the clan's political playground, which meant that his manner of speaking had changed a little.
It was hard to break out of habits.
"Fine. You managed to uncover a truly horrendous thing in the Ross Clan, and the political shitstorm that happened is about to swallow the clan whole."
Alec raised a brow. "Surely it's not as bad as that?"
Travis snorted again, disagreeing. "There's always been a power gap between two factions, but since Diane Ross was a staunch supporter of the first faction, the upheaval after her apparent doings was enough to shift the power more towards the second faction. Diane was in charge of a lot of things in the clan, helping the first faction. She had quite a bit of power."
Alec kept silent, listening to Travis ramble on and on about all the things that were going wrong since Diane had been exposed.
He wasn't really interested in the internal happenings of the Ross Clan, but the information he got from Travis as he continued to vent was helpful enough that he didn't stop him.
Finally, Travis got to the point where he was just tired and less on guard.
He took a big gulp from the mug that was placed on the table.
Alec allowed him to do so. Maybe it would further loosen him up a little.
"I mean… I just never expected her to be capable of such atrocity, you know?" Travis said. He seemed almost sad.
Alec didn't say anything. Rather than wanting Alec to talk, Travis just seemed more like he needed a listening ear.
Travis slumped onto the table, sobbing.
Alec was speechless.
Helplessly, the System planted another seal that obscured the table they were seating at before anyone could see the first young master of the Ross Clan acting like a fool.
Alec had no idea why he was acting in such a way. He only had a little sip of Alec's drink, so it couldn't be that.
Alec prodded Travis with his shoe, causing the teen to roll over on the table, completely ungraceful.
"What?" Travis said with a watery sniff.
"Did your clan discover anything else about Diane's wrongdoings?"
Travis' eyes filled with tears, and Alec didn't want to touch on that with a ten-foot pole.
"We did," Travis wailed. "There was so much!"
"Like what?"
Alec only had a brief time to scan through the other things left behind, and her diary and little black book only contained details outside the clan, as well as the things she did for the company without the clan's presence.
What he wanted were the extra details about the things he hadn't managed to read about.
"There were times where she killed one or both parents, then abducted the child. Both from inside and outside the clan. There were also instances where she was the one who purposely sabotaged – there are just so many things-" Travis' voice cracked.
"I just can't believe I never saw any hints of it whatsoever, you know? She was so nice to me. I treated her almost like another mother, but those eyes of hers when she looks at me now just-"
Alec's eyes flashed. Those weren't the things he was looking for, but it deepened his disdain for her all the same.
"Do you know what she did with the children?"
Travis shook his head. "I suspect that she was giving them to the slave traders, but they don't have any solid evidence of that. We just know that she was the one doing it."
"And did your clan interrogate her?"
Travis smiled bitterly. "Of course. How could you expect anything less?"
The young master from the Ross Clan took another sip from his cup, and he seemed noticeably more depressed.
"I still can't believe it," he slurred. "I can't, I can't…"
Alec frowned. While he did still have a bit of sympathy for Travis, it was expiring fast. What in the world was causing him to act this way?
Was he just using the presence of alcohol to drown in his emotions, or was he really drunk?
The System gave a few more prods, but the young master of the Ross Clan seemed completely out of sorts. He information he spouted was varied and differing in detail.
Alec was baffled. The teen truly did seem completely drunk, which made no sense to him.
He was only sipping one mouthful at a time!
Alec himself had went by the mug and was still perfectly fine and in control of his mental capacity.
Unless Travis just had an abnormally low tolerance?
It didn't occur to Alec at all that it was his alcohol tolerance that was abnormally high. Especially since he'd been repeatedly dosing himself with various forms of poison over the years.
Travis spilled everything he knew under the influence of alcohol – something that the teen had told himself not to do when he met Alec – but the alcohol successfully loosened his tongue even though Alec didn't expect it to have such a great effect.
Finally, Travis let out something that Alec was interested in. Very interested, in fact.
"Diane's been rotting in one of the clan's dungeons. Since she won't say anything else, the elders are all scratching their heads despite the methods being used to interrogate her. By now, it's mostly been abandoned as a useless avenue, so she's mostly left alone."
Alec's eyes narrowed. "Is there only one dungeon?"
"Mmhm."
"Where can I find the other information that the clan's already gathered from Diane?"
"Top floor, in the management office," Travis slurred, before he knocked right out, the alcohol doing him in.
Alec's lips twitched. He looked in the mug. What a lightweight.
Still, he very kindly picked up Travis like a bedraggled kitten and carried him under the arm, removing the two seals he'd placed down on the bar's table.
He absconded with Travis, people staring at him with wide eyes.
The people left behind whispered to one another, "Should we inform the Ross Clan or not?"
Someone snorted. "Let them be. It's not like it's our problem."
"But what if they arrest us?" someone else asked, nonplussed.
"I say it's more likely that the first young master's found a bit of fun, more like-"
"Hahaha!"
Alec sneered, hearing the words that were going around crystal clear despite the distance he'd already put between them.
Alec carried Travis' unconscious body towards the Ross Clan Compounds and was obviously stopped outside before he could enter.
He painted a suspicious picture. Lugging around an unconscious body would do that.
The System picked up Travis by the back of his shirt, showing them his face. "I'm bringing back the first young master of the Ross Clan. He got plastered with me in the bar."
The guards eyed him with great deal of suspicion, but they still allowed him entry in the end after they pointed out where Travis lived.
He supposed that it helped that he knew Talisha's name and not just Travis'.
Of course, to Alec, what they were doing was inconsequential. He was here for more than that, after all.
Still, Alec brought Travis back to his house and unceremoniously dumped him on the bed before leaving quickly.
A slow smile spread on Alec's face, but it was unseen under the hood he sported. "Don't be obtuse. It's unbecoming of you."Travis snorted, but conceded. He'd only been back for a little over two weeks, but he was already thrust back into the clan's political playground, which meant that his manner of speaking had changed a little.It was hard to break out of habits."Fine. You managed to uncover a truly horrendous thing in the Ross Clan, and the political shitstorm that happened is about to swallow the clan whole."Alec raised a brow. "Surely it's not as bad as that?"Travis snorted again, disagreeing. "There's always been a power gap between two factions, but since Diane Ross was a staunch supporter of the first faction, the upheaval after her apparent doings was enough to shift the power more towards the second faction. Diane was in charge of a lot of things in the clan, helping the first faction. She had quite a bit of power."Alec kept silent, listening to Travis ramble on and on about all the things that were going wrong since Diane had been exposed.He wasn't really interested in the internal happenings of the Ross Clan, but the information he got from Travis as he continued to vent was helpful enough that he didn't stop him.Finally, Travis got to the point where he was just tired and less on guard.He took a big gulp from the mug that was placed on the table.Alec allowed him to do so. Maybe it would further loosen him up a little."I mean I just never expected her to be capable of such atrocity, you know?" Travis said. He seemed almost sad.Alec didn't say anything. Rather than wanting Alec to talk, Travis just seemed more like he needed a listening ear.Travis slumped onto the table, sobbing.Alec was speechless.Helplessly, the System planted another seal that obscured the table they were seating at before anyone could see the first young master of the Ross Clan acting like a fool.Alec had no idea why he was acting in such a way. He only had a little sip of Alec's drink, so it couldn't be that.Alec prodded Travis with his shoe, causing the teen to roll over on the table, completely ungraceful."What?" Travis said with a watery sniff."Did your clan discover anything else about Diane's wrongdoings?"Travis' eyes filled with tears, and Alec didn't want to touch on that with a ten-foot pole."We did," Travis wailed. "There was so much!""Like what?"Alec only had a brief time to scan through the other things left behind, and her diary and little black book only contained details outside the clan, as well as the things she did for the company without the clan's presence.What he wanted were the extra details about the things he hadn't managed to read about."There were times where she killed one or both parents, then abducted the child. Both from inside and outside the clan. There were also instances where she was the one who purposely sabotaged there are just so many things-" Travis' voice cracked."I just can't believe I never saw any hints of it whatsoever, you know? She was so nice to me. I treated her almost like another mother, but those eyes of hers when she looks at me now just-"Alec's eyes flashed. Those weren't the things he was looking for, but it deepened his disdain for her all the same."Do you know what she did with the children?"Travis shook his head. "I suspect that she was giving them to the slave traders, but they don't have any solid evidence of that. We just know that she was the one doing it.""And did your clan interrogate her?"Travis smiled bitterly. "Of course. How could you expect anything less?"The young master from the Ross Clan took another sip from his cup, and he seemed noticeably more depressed."I still can't believe it," he slurred. "I can't, I can't"Alec frowned. While he did still have a bit of sympathy for Travis, it was expiring fast. What in the world was causing him to act this way?Was he just using the presence of alcohol to drown in his emotions, or was he really drunk?The System gave a few more prods, but the young master of the Ross Clan seemed completely out of sorts. He information he spouted was varied and differing in detail.Alec was baffled. The teen truly did seem completely drunk, which made no sense to him.He was only sipping one mouthful at a time!Alec himself had went by the mug and was still perfectly fine and in control of his mental capacity.Unless Travis just had an abnormally low tolerance?It didn't occur to Alec at all that it was his alcohol tolerance that was abnormally high. Especially since he'd been repeatedly dosing himself with various forms of poison over the years.Travis spilled everything he knew under the influence of alcohol something that the teen had told himself not to do when he met Alec but the alcohol successfully loosened his tongue even though Alec didn't expect it to have such a great effect.Finally, Travis let out something that Alec was interested in. Very interested, in fact."Diane's been rotting in one of the clan's dungeons. Since she won't say anything else, the elders are all scratching their heads despite the methods being used to interrogate her. By now, it's mostly been abandoned as a useless avenue, so she's mostly left alone."Alec's eyes narrowed. "Is there only one dungeon?""Mmhm.""Where can I find the other information that the clan's already gathered from Diane?""Top floor, in the management office," Travis slurred, before he knocked right out, the alcohol doing him in.Alec's lips twitched. He looked in the mug. What a lightweight.Still, he very kindly picked up Travis like a bedraggled kitten and carried him under the arm, removing the two seals he'd placed down on the bar's table.He absconded with Travis, people staring at him with wide eyes.The people left behind whispered to one another, "Should we inform the Ross Clan or not?"Someone snorted. "Let them be. It's not like it's our problem.""But what if they arrest us?" someone else asked, nonplussed."I say it's more likely that the first young master's found a bit of fun, more like-""Hahaha!"Alec sneered, hearing the words that were going around crystal clear despite the distance he'd already put between them.Alec carried Travis' unconscious body towards the Ross Clan Compounds and was obviously stopped outside before he could enter.He painted a suspicious picture. Lugging around an unconscious body would do that.The System picked up Travis by the back of his shirt, showing them his face. "I'm bringing back the first young master of the Ross Clan. He got plastered with me in the bar."The guards eyed him with great deal of suspicion, but they still allowed him entry in the end after they pointed out where Travis lived.He supposed that it helped that he knew Talisha's name and not just Travis'.Of course, to Alec, what they were doing was inconsequential. He was here for more than that, after all.Still, Alec brought Travis back to his house and unceremoniously dumped him on the bed before leaving quickly.
